2 Samuel 22:1-3

David sang this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul.

He sang:

“The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my Savior;My God is my rock, in whom I find protection.He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.He is my refuge, my savior, the one who saves me from violence.

87 Times in the New Living Translation of the Bible, the word "fortress" is mentioned. In some instances, there is a physical structure that people run into for protection. In other cases, we find that someone is building a structure for protection for a designated group of people. Today's Scripture speaks of the Lord as David's "fortress." 1st and 2nd Samuel are two books in the Bible whose author is unknown. Some theologians believe that the prophets Nathan and Gad may have recorded the events of 2nd Samuel. We do know that the prophet Samuel would have already been deceased by the time that 2nd Samuel was recorded. Let's look carefully at these wise words spoken about King David. Notice that the author quotes King David. That means that the author heard it for himself. Imagine being the one that got to hear King David shout, "The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my Savior." Notice the language is all personal. Before every description, the personal pronoun "my" is used. David has claimed God as his own. Have you? I often am troubled over the lack of personal pronouns in our thought process regarding God. It is fine to read and speak that Jesus died for the sins of the world. He did! What that also means, is that it is personal for each of us. Jesus died for MY sins. I have discovered that many personality traits that we should have in our lives, only come from God. Self-worth and confidence are two of them. As individuals, we need to celebrate how important we are to God. Each one of us. When the world beats us up and tells us that everything about us is simply not good enough, we need to claim the promise that King David did. God needs to be our personal fortress, power, refuge, rock, strength, safety, shield, and Savior. God, and His Son Jesus Christ, are literally the place we can individually go to find protection. We rarely admit when we are terrified by life. Every day we are faced with major life-changing decisions. Those of us that have lived for awhile, know exactly what I am talking about. Virtually all of us can look at our lives and point to decisions we made that shaped our futures, good and bad. We are in a season of renewal. If you made some of these decisions without being in your "fortress," rejoice, because you can re-think those decisions, this time, inside your "fortress." There will still be pain and sorrow in life, but moving forward, you can take a new direction with the Joy of the Lord. It will not be easy. The comfort of your present surroundings, no matter how wrong they may be, will speak to you about the danger of change. Don't listen. Jesus' life on earth changed every day. The one constant for Him was his own personal "fortress," God the Father. Today, echo King David's words. Let everyone hear you say, out loud, "God, you are my rock and my fortress." Now, walk with Him in the confidence that He will lead you down the path of righteousness. Today, you will experience the ultimate safety and protection of God. Remember, true peace only exists in your personal "fortress!"